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Review: Urban Decay Naked 3 Palette

About time, right? I've posted several makeup looks using the Urban Decay Naked 3 Palette ($52) but hadn't gotten around to reviewing it yet. I've had the Naked 3 since December of 2013. (Yes, I bought it on the first day it became available at physical Sephora stores. Yes, I went to the mall just to get it and then left.) I like to use products thoroughly before I review them. You'll never see me post about a product one or two days after receiving it. Since I've had 3 whole months to play with this, here's what I think...

First, can we talk about the price increase on the Naked Palettes? I vaguely remember saving up my money and purchasing the Naked 1 for $50 back in the day. Considering the Naked Palettes haven't been out that long, a $2 price increase is pretty steep. And since we're talking about price, here's what I always say to anyone considering purchasing a Naked: Yes, they're really expensive but they are amazing quality. Furthermore, the shades were so carefully selected that you could get thousands of looks out of these palettes. Versatility is their middle name. However, if you rarely wear eyeshadows, these palettes are not for you. If you tend to wear the same shimmery champagne shade every single day, these palettes are not for you. If you typically use only one eyeshadow per look, these palettes are not for you.

I'm making these distinctions because all the Nakeds include a few dark colors and some dramatic shimmers. I sometimes hear complaints of people not using their Naked enough or only using a few shades. Buying a palette because you like 80% of the colors is fine. A lot of times there are one or two shades in a palette that we never/rarely use. This is a common occurrence with larger palettes. However, using only half (or less) of the colors really is a waste of money.

- Previous Naked Palettes came with a deluxe sample size of the Urban Decay Primer Potion, the Naked 3 does not. This one comes with a pamphlet of small packets (1-3 uses, but really just one because I don't reuse samples that come in non-resealable packages) containing all of the eyeshadow primers Urban Decay makes. It was nice trying primers I had never used before, but it's stingy in comparison to a deluxe sample size which can last you several months.

- There are more glittery shades in this palette compared to past Nakeds so the Naked 3 has more fallout. The fallout is only present on the glitter finishes, of course, and is reduced by patting the eyeshadow into the lid vs. buffing or swiping (which is the best way to apply any glitter eyeshadow to minimize fallout).

Things I liked about the Naked 3 Palette:

+ I was very happy that the overall tones of the eyeshadows are rosy, gold, mauve, and burgundy. It makes the palette more unique and reduces repetition amongst people who own a lot of eyeshadows already.

+ The texture and pigmentation are consistent with Urban Decay's typical formula: rich, smooth, long-lasting, and high in pigment.

+ There's a really light, bone/beige matte eyeshadow (Strange) which is missing in most palettes in the market. I use colors like that almost everyday on the brow bone and to help with crease blending.

+ It has more matte shades compared to past Naked Palettes.

+ The flat side of the brush it comes with is actually helpful for patting on the glittery shadows.

Coco - this is the beds review of naked 3 I've seen. This is why you're my favourite beauty blog! (Lame fangirling moment but hey) so honest! I own and love this pallette - I use every shade frequently apart from dust and liar is my favourite shade of any pallette ever. Fantastic review.

I have the Naked 2 and I don't love it because taupey shades aren't my fave. I use Chopper a lot and I do use some of the other shades but really I use about half of them. I kind of want this one mainly just for Trick! It is pretty though.

This is a lovely post, I don't think I'd fork out for the Naked 3 as currently I'm not yet fully into my eye shadows and having enough eye makeup to justify this purchase. I own the Naked 2 and currently all I use it for is highlighting my brow bone and inner corner of my eye and my eyebrows - not it's full use at all!

I always trust your reviews and was looking forward to this one because I've been on the fence about this palette because I wasn't sure the colours would suit my complexion. Your skin tone is similar to mine so I love that the shades still worked beautifully and had the right amount of pigmentation. lovely post! xx Stefanie | Casualllyawkward

beautiful swatches and review! I don't have the original naked but I have naked 2, which I've to said I don't use to much :( ...only a few shades but this one looks great! definitely in my next shopping trip ^^

1 and 3 are definitely tied for my favorite! i had basics but i just thought all of the colors were too warm for me so i gave it to my best friend. the only thing i LOVED about 2 was the black shadow, and i broke it when i depotted it into a z palette =[

I love my Naked 3 palette, I've been using it every day for nearly two months now. I definitely agree that some of the glitter shades have some fallout but it's nothing too major and I love the range of looks you can create with it xx

I still only have the Naked 1 out of all of their palettes they have released. When I saw the promo for Naked 3 I thought I would have to have it however the swatches just don't get me excited. I may purchase Naked 2 and 3 eventually, but right now I just don't think I need them :)

I currently don't own any of the Naked palettes (just a dupe for 1), so if I were to purchase on it would probably be the 3, just because I don't love all the shades in 2 and I absolutely adore pinky and rose gold shadows. I would feel gypped though that it doesn't include a deluxe size of the primer! I find foil packets so annoying to use.

I agree the glittery shades here have craaazy fallout, which is a shame since they're actually super pretty. I'm liking the overall colour palette a lot more than I expected, but I think the pigmentation is slightly poorer than Naked1 and 2. Also, mine had this weird factory chemical smell which I don't remember being present in either of the two palettes before, or at least certainly not as strong. I paid a huge premium for this palette because Beauty Bay decided to hike up the price of them to Australian customers by about $20 and I couldn't wait any longer for it to come back in stock on Look Fantastic (though literally the day after I put an order through on BB, it did came back in stock, lol), so I would've been super happy to have paid $52 with the $2 increase :p

I really agree with you when it comes to buying a palette. If you don't like the majority of the colors then why buy one? I see so many people just using 2 colors of a large palette and I just wonder why they didn't just get those two shades instead. I feel like they just fall into the hype instead of making a wise choice. The colors in this palette looks gorgeous but I look like I'm catching a cold with pink shades. lol